Friday, July 18, 2014

Cutting Deals with informants for US visas

On March 13, 2010, gunmen deployed by the Juárez cartel took up their positions as guests filtered out from a child’s birthday party.

Many of the guests worked at the United States consulate in Juárez.

A Chihuahua state police officer named Jorge Alberto Salcido, whose wife was a Mexican citizen employed by the consulate, left the party with his children, ages 4 and 7. One team of gunmen went after Salcido. He was shot to death; his children survived.

At about the same time, U.S. consulate employee Lesley Ann Enriquez and her husband, Arthur Redelfs, a detention officer at the El Paso County jail, were murdered.

Now documents show the motive for the killings was the Juárez cartel's belief that the United States was actively helping their enemies in the Sinaloa Federation by issuing visas to Sinaloa members in exchange for intelligence on the Juárez cartel.

The evidence suggests the consulate killings were part of a tapestry of events that some people believe is traceable to U.S. law enforcement's decision to work with one set of criminals in Juárez at the expense of another.

Matalon also speaks with College of William & Mary Professor George Grayson the co-author with Sam Logan of "The Executioner's Men" Los Zetas, Rogue Soldiers, Criminal Entrepreneurs and the Shadow State They Created."

Grayson has chronicled other examples of U.S. authorities paying informants inside the Mexican underworld.

McGahan's research in Juárez led him down a path where he kept hearing the same question. Here's the introduction to his story:

In the Mexican border city of Juárez the question persists: What kind of involvement did the United States government have, or not, with the turf war between drug cartels that claimed thousands of lives only a short drive across the Rio Grande from El Paso? Three years after the worst of the carnage, details about the U.S. role gradually are beginning to surface.

McGahan and Grayson describe the risks inherent in using paid informants who often want it both ways; the immunity that being an informant affords, at least temporarily and the income that comes with being a major drug trafficker.

McGagan describes another incident that came to light in April as a Sinaloa cartel prosecution was adjudicated in federal court in Chicago.

The son of another Sinaloa kingpin made headlines alleging in court in Chicago that his father’s cartel received “carte blanche” from the United States government to continue to smuggle illegal cocaine by the ton into the country. U.S. officials denied this.

The Feds also deny unconfirmed claims arising from the case in Chicago that they permitted informants from the Sinaloa cartel to attend meetings where the cartel was discussed, or warned them of anti-drug operations planned in the cartel’s territory. By way of proof, they point to the plethora of top Sinaloa leaders captured and prosecuted in recent times, culminating with the arrest of El Chapo.

El Chapo is Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, the leader of the Sinaloa cartel and the alleged intellectual author of the most gruesome murders of police in Juárez between 2007-2010, at the same time the United States was paying some of El Chapo's subordinates for information.

While it is true that Sinaloa operatives have been captured or killed recently, a review of arrest records released in Mexico shows a pattern that clearly favors Sinaloa over any of its rivals.

Grayson expands on the notion that there are unpredictable consequences when the U.S. decides to pay Mexican nationals of questionable repute for information.

Given that violence in Juárez rose while U.S. visas were issued to Sinaloa operatives, the questions remains; what the did the U.S. gain by striking deals with criminals in Mexico?

Here's McGahan's take:

El Chapo was arrested by a special contingent of Mexican Marines in February. Although the carnage in the Juárez area has diminished, on May 25 two armed men entered the law office of the ex-president of the local bar association and gunned him down along with a municipal judge who was with him at the time. Border security analysts interpret the murders as a settling of old scores by the Juárez cartel, which has gained in strength and boldness and apparently intends to retake the territory it lost in the war with El Chapo and the ICE.

20 comments:

"The evidence suggests the consulate killings were part of a tapestry of events that some people believe is traceable to U.S. law enforcement's decision" -- Call me crazy, but it's more likely that the violence is caused by the drug trade, not the US using informants to fight drug cartels...

By saying that the US is worse than Mexico makes you sound jealous. It's always better to be the puppet master and not the puppet. The US governent has puppet goverments that we use as our pawns. We say jump you say how high. It's not anything to be jealous of it's just the reality of how things work. The US can't be all bad since hundreds of thousands of Latinos come to this country illegally every year. And if they get deported they are back as soon as they can get here. I can't even count the number of people I have met in the last 10 years who were in Texas illegally. And do you know what I say to that "good for you and good luck" because they came here for a better life.

It's well known that the snitchola told on their rivals. They had an agreement/arrangement with the ATF and DEA for years. Now the Carillo Fuentes Cartel and La Linea will settle debts and take their rightful place as the owners of the Chihuahua plaza. If you don't think so just sit back and watch the drama unfold.

the DEA now comandeered by the CIA arrested vicentillo, and keeps him in chicago, land of presidential president obama, and chente is singing, in its defense, the CIA denies and denies that any of it is true, and to prove it says "aay como eres" and arrests all of the sinaloa cartel, for not turning in all the profits, and working part time for themselves, like noriega and other notoriously usual suspectz, new proven and worthy members are at work for the most powerful mafia and untouchables, recruiting pushers and customers alike, as greedy and murderous as any, from among the US youth, jugaloos and steam punks, etc etc etc, all over the US, and from canada to brasil and argentina and chile, who needs the sinaloa cartel anymore?and yet, presidents, lawmakers, generals, and police commanders all over, known and proven to be corrupt, and who are working to make it criminal under the law to even think about it, NEVER GET PROSECUTED, except for lupe treviño and co. and that because he is hispanic, white higher ups never get caught, never mind "presidential or vicepresidential" higher ups, no mater what, no mater how many crimes against humanity or against detainees or dirty wars or under how many false pretenses, or how many US soldiers their terrorist criminal allies kill, as long as they have their corporate welfare billionaire contracts from uncle sam, all is well in lala land, no investigations and no prosecutions for these sorry excuses for a patriotz!!! THOSE INFORMANTS WERE THEIR EMPLOYEES!!! see who has got all the money, laundered or not, mostly in foreign banks, it is not foreign informants with visas;--from donald trump,"when you owe money to the bank, you are in trouble, when you owe A LOT of money to the bank, the bank is in trouble" from ny to las vegas to chicago, to casinos all over mexico since his hank rohn partners were refused as casino owners in las vegas, to the lds church who stole all of howard huges enterprises including casinos in las vegas and all over the world, all these entrepreneurs have their dirty hands on the drug trafficking cake, no investigations...

Lay off the meth, take a deep breath, quit being manic, and some of that would probably make some sense.. ive noticed these kind of comments in other stories- long, ranting, rambling, manic comments that do have some valid points.. if you are this person who made all of those and you calmed down a little, youd be pretty brilliant.

5:55 there is a big whole lot of difference in the criminal actions that happen under US rule , suppervision, design and finance, and the moneys the ACCUSED make, and the actions of illegal immigrants and the money they make or not. we are here leveling accusations, only, many of them hard to prove in a court of law for sure, but even when there has been proof the big perps get presidential pardons, we are trying to define and make our case here, about who is the criminal, and the impact of their crimes on society in general, in spite of all their money, they have never ceased to conduct their criminal and corrupt lives as they saw fit, now they want to keep a clean name at any cost, and hide the truth, and hide under the petticoats of any president that will allow it, and i would never dream of saying "good luck, good for you" to any of the bunch, and there is not any envy here about anything, thank you, there is a hunger for the truth, and you can't be pompous enough to make anybody shut up and stop incomodating los señores del US narco, (the US drug lords)...

If you are getting information from people that are that close to the the crimes, your hands are probably a little dirty. You are probably not an upstanding citizen in many instances. Nice that they will be able to travel in the USA. Are their any qualifications before they give out a visa, or just that they provided information?

Juarez cartel never lost the city. They only lost the valley of Juarez to chapo. People in the valley of Juarez are fed up with the Sinaloa cartel. That's why the Juarez cartel is taking over that area.

Thats how the u.s govt plays. They made a deal with sinaloa to take out zetas, afo and vcfo and once they weakened these groups then, surprise it was sinaloas turn. I tell u thats how the u.s does it!!! Its funny how sinaloa thought the usa was there friend!!!

--mexican drug traffickers associated to some US intelligence and drug trafficking agencies...--fighting against other mexican drug traffickers, associated to some other US intelligency and drug trafficking agencies, some times one and the same, tooo often the same one!--just keeping them big bad dog cartel members fighting for the tablescraps, spending more money than they make on US provided weapons...--they don't even finish paying for them when they are gone, seran pendejos...!